Evaluation of Pre-Departure Orientation of Long-Term, Off-Shore Graduate Education Participants: Theory & Practice.

N

36

Policymakers; Practitioners

Agricultural Education; Evaluation Methods; Foreign Countries; Foreign Students; Graduate Study; Higher Education; Orientation; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Study Abroad; Surveys; Vocational Education

This study presents an analysis of a previous evaluation conducted by the Malawi (East Africa) government of the usefulness of long-term, off-shore (mostly in the United States) graduate education and results of a recent survey comparing career attitudes of participants and non-participants in a pre-departure orientation program. Following a discussion of evaluation theory, a critique of the evaluation commissioned by the Malawi government includes background information on the evaluation, an analysis of the data gathering techniques and instrument, and a discussion of the possible uses of the information. Application of previously developed evaluation principles to the survey (N=60) of a pre-departure orientation program found that there was no difference in the perceived relevance of graduate education to career and national development for those individuals who participated in a pre-departure orientation as compared to those who did not. However, the demographic analysis of the two groups found that the bulk of individuals who did not participate in the orientation program were doctoral students who had previously completed master's level work in the United States. Included are three tables and 10 references. (JB)

1992

ED341312